2014 call for nominations for IACET Board of DirectorsIACETIACET is seeking qualified, dedicated and energetic members to serve on the 2014 Board of Directors. This is your opportunity to promote high quality and value in the continuing education and training field, as well as to give back to the industry that you serve. You are eligible to nominate yourself or others to the open positions on the IACET Board of Directors. We ask for your input to fill our upcoming Board of Directors vacancies.

2014 Top 20 training outsourcing listTraining IndustryThe Top 20 list recognizes the leading training outsourcing companies for their high quality services and comprehensive capabilities. All have demonstrated experience managing major BPO engagements, and they use their influence and expertise to advance the training industry.

Training evaluation in this new worldTraining Journal (commentary)Paul Matthews, the founder of People Alchemy, writes: "Last month I blogged about learning being a sacred cow, and that the emphasis should be on performance as the outcome rather than learning as the outcome. So I was most intrigued to have the opportunity to attend a short course on the Kirkpatrick 'New World' Four Levels model run by DPG a couple of weeks ago. Given my proactive stance on informal learning in all its guises, and my lack of enthusiasm for much of the formal training that currently gets delivered, going to a formal training course on how to evaluate training seemed like a strange thing to do. I suspected that I would spend a lot of my time biting my tongue to quell my objections, or squirming in my seat as I disagreed with those around me worshipping at the Temple of Training."

Professional development for the firefighter in 2014 and beyondFire EngineeringThere is no cookie cutter for creating competent firefighters. Although NFPA 1001, Standard for Fire Fighter Professional Qualifications, provides a means for determining competency in written and practical skill examinations for certification purposes, there are limits placed on the training at the local level because of time constraints and funding. Very seldom is NFPA 1001 used in continuous education or in service training to measure the capability of the skills to which firefighters are originally trained.

On-the-job training bill moves aheadCity of Santa ClareThe Senate Education Committee on Wednesday unanimously approved a bill by Senator Fran Pavley, D-Agoura Hills, to modernize apprenticeships to meet 21st century workforce needs, make this valuable on-the-job training available to more Californians and integrate programs into high school and community college. Senate Bill 923 would create the Educational Apprenticeship Innovation Prize, or EdPrize, to encourage the development of modern apprenticeships and pre-apprenticeships by school districts, businesses and community colleges.

MOOCs: The next evolution in e-learning?WorkforceRobert Hall doesn't consider himself an expert on massive open online courses, otherwise known as MOOCs. But after creating learning content through MOOC vendor Udemy, Hall is the go-to guy at Marek Bros., a Houston-based construction company. Hall, a project manager by trade, used Udemy's open-source software to develop instructional videos about new processes for managing construction-related bidding data. Frustrated by the inefficient way data were managed, Hall took it upon himself to find a better way. He created 15 videos, each between two and four minutes in duration, that show which formulas and protocols to follow when employees record various information on spreadsheets.

Service training reinforcement: How to make training lessons stickBusiness 2 CommunityA well-trained employee can make all the difference when it comes to customer service and how the employee deals with customer escalations, solves customer problems, and upsells or cross-sells your products. When you invest in training programs for your employees, you’ll probably find that your employees come out of the training motivated and better equipped to work with customers. However, over time, their enthusiasm fades and you may find yourself dealing with some of the same pre-training issues.